Door latch for automobiles



Oct. 16, 1928.

E. N. JACOBI DOOR LATCH FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed June 2, 1924 2 Sheets-snee?I IN VEN TOR.

WITNESSES A TTORNE Y.

M2M 714. f wrw'j Oct. 16, 1928,

E. N. JACOBI DOOR LATCH FOR AUTOKOBILES.

Filed June 2, 1924 2 sheets-sheet l2 W/TNESSE MQW Paten-ted Oct. 16, 1928.

UNITED `srrras PATENT OFFICE.

- EDWARD N.. JAOOBI, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSINOB, BT HESNE .ASSIGN- MENTS, TO BRIGGS @c STRATTON CORPORATION, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

DOOR LATCH F018.` AUTOMOBILES.

lApplication med June 2,

This invention'has Vfor its object to provide a door latch for use on automobiles and the like which-will be less expensive to manufacture, although as durable and eicient as 6' latches now in general use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a latchconstruction which will have certain advantages simplifying its manufacture and assembly, as well as reducing the cost of production. j

- Another object of the invention is to provide a door latch of this character which will serve either asa right-hand latch or a lefthand latch.

Another object of the invention is to provide parts of sheet metal construction throughout and springs of the coiled spring t5 e. Ivith the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the doorl latch as herein claimed and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts in differentviews,

Fig. 1 is a rear view of a door` latch constructed in accordance with this lnvention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view thereof with the cover-plate sectioned; j

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the plane of line 44 of Fig. 2;

' Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the latch in its retracted condition, and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the plane of line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In these drawings, 10 indicates a frameplate havin its end bent to form the usual door-jambtting flange 1l, through which the pivoted latc -bolt 12 projects to engage the keeper-plate, not shown, in the door-j amb.

In the present instance the latch-bolt 12 is formed of heavy sheet metal pressed to shape and pivotally mounted on `a bearing bracket 13 formed by a piece of sheet metal folded on itself and riveted to the vframe-plate and forming s aced trunnion bearings to receive'4 the ends o a pin 14 passing through the sides of the bolt and fastened in place by having lugs pinched up thereon, as shown. No careful machining or fitting is necessary in assembling the bolt in the frame-plate for it has 1924. Serial No. 717,333.

no engagement with the plate near its fulcrum, being instead limited in its outward `movement by the engagement of a stop flange 15 formed at its outer edge with the edge of the 4opening of the frame-plate, as seen lin Fig. 4. f

Another pin 16 passing through the side walls of the bolt forms a pivotal connection for the bolt-operator 17, which has its intermediate, portion bent around vsaid pin. It will be noted that the pin 16 lies back of the flange 11 of the frame-plate and consequentl its ends do not have to be dressed flush with the sides of the bolt in order to avoid enga ement with the edges of said opening. he ends of the bolt-operator 17 are rearwardly curved so that the operator forms a yoke-like member and these ends bend downwardly into bearing contact with the rame-plate, as seen in Fig. 3. In the movements of the operator for swinging the bolt, theseends slide along the surface of the frame-plate and are guided in their movements by havin tions 18 thereon forming guide lugs tting in slots 19 of the frame-plate. The engagement of these projections with the ends of the slots forms, a stop for limiting the movement of the bolt-operator, as seen in Fig. 6.

The roll-back for engaging either of the bent ends of the bolt-operator 17 consists of two plates of sheet metal 20 and 21 electrically riveted together by spot-welding and theseplates are pressed to form a central hub member 22 fitting in an opening of the frameplate and in a corresponding opening in a cover-plate 23 which is secured to the frameplate but spaced therefrom in the manner shown in Fig. 3. That is, the cover-plate has top and bottom flanges bearing against the frame-plate with ears 24 projecting through slots of the frame-plate and bent over. The roll-back is thus rotatably mounted between the frame-plate and the cover-plate, suitable shoulders being provided on it to bear against projec- Y these plates, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, whereby To give spring pressure to the bolt, coiled springs 27 are housed Within the cover-plate and bear on the ends ofthe bolt-operator- In. detail each spring is confined between the connecting flange of the cover-plate and a flange 28 bent up from the frame-plate and is seated at one end against a flange 29 bent down from the cover-plate, While its other -end 1s con# fined within a spring seat cup 30, which 1s centered on the end of the bolt-operator 17 by having a central recess or opening fitting on a lug 31 struck up on the end of the boltoperator, as best seen in Fig. 2.

To return the roll-back to its normal position after being turned in either direction for operating the bolt, its hub is surrounded by a coiled spring 32 with its two ends engaging the opposite edges of an upstanding arm 33 on the plate 21 of the roll-back and also engaging the opposite edges of a downwardly extending stop 34 on the cover-plate. Thus when the roll-back `is turned in either direction by the handle to withdraw the bolt, as seen in Fig. 5,the arm 33 carries one end of the rspring 32 away from the other, which is held in place by the stop 34 so that the tension of the spring will return the roll-back to its normal position when the handle is released.

To prevent the coiled spring 32 from bearing against the cover-plate and to prevent it from springing oil' of the hub ofthe roll-back during assembly a light sheet metal flanged collar 35 is forced onto the hub of the roll-v back, as seen in Fig. 4.

From the foregoing the operation of the latch will beunderstood and it will be appreciated that, aside from the reduction in cost of manufacture due to the use of sheet metal parts with coiled springs, both for the rollback and for the latch-operator, manufacturing leconomies are obtained by the avoidance of the use of a bolt stop dependent upon en- @agement with the frame-plate close to its LJulcrum, for with the distant stop flange 15 the positioning of the bracket 13 does not have to be accurately determined. Also all machine work on the bolt is obviated and there is no necessity for grinding off the ends of the pin 1G since it does not enter the open ing in the frame-plate. Also the bolt-operator does not require an open bearing engagement with the pin 1 6 to permit of disconnection for with the pin 16 at the rear of the frame-plate it may be 'passed through the end ofthe operator as a part of the assembly oper ation, which was not possible when the ends of said pin had to be machined to prevent engagement with the edges of the opening in the frame-plate. Also the part of the boltoperator through which the pin lpasses may be substantially equal in width to the recess or opening in the bolt, avoiding the necessity for lateral guides.

The use of coiled springs instead ofibent wire springs as usual is not onl aneconomy in manufacture, but increases t e durability of the latch and avoids the obstruction to the provision for uniformly positioned screw openings 36 at the top and bottom edges of the frame-plate, whereby the same latch may be used foreither right or left-hand door.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A door latch for automobiles and the like comprising a frame-plate bent .to `form an angular jamb-fitting 'flange having an opening therethrough, a bearing bracket sep-l arate from the, frame-plate but attached the back thereof, a bolt member pivotally mounted in the bracket near the angle be-` tween the flange-and the frame late and adaptedto swing through the opening, a lug i i on the outer edge of the bolt to engage the edge of the opening, a pin through the bolt back of the flange, and a springfpressed operating member pivotally mounted onsaid pin between the sides of the bolt.

2. A door latch for automobiles and the like comprising a frame-plate having an angular ,iamb-fitting flange with an opening through the flange, a bearing bracket separate from the frame-plate and secured thereto, aA

bolt member pivotally mounted on the brack D et near the angle between the flange and the' frame-plate and projecting through the o ening, and 4a lug on the outer edge of the olt I engaging the edge ofthe opening.

3. A door latch for automobiles and the like comprising a frame-plate having an an-l.

loo

gular jamb-litting flange with an opening through the flange, a bearing bracket secured yto the frameplate at the back thereof consisting of a metal plate folded on itself and forming spaced trunnion bearings, a pin litting in the spaced trunnion bearings, ay sheet metal bolt member having parallel sides mounted on the pin between the-trunnion 'pl-ate, a stop on the outer edge of the olt for engaging the edge of the o ening of the plate, a pin passing thi-ou h t ebolt behind the frameplate, and a oltfoperator engaging said pin and being of/a width substantially equal. to the width of the recess of the bolt so as to require no lateral guides.

5. In a door-latch for automobiles and the like, a roll-back comprising two sheet metal plates spot welded together with their edges forming holt-o erator engaging shoulders and shaped to orm complementary parts of a hub, a frame-plate and a. cover-plete having said hub journaled therein, one of said plates being deeper than the other to form a spring ,'barrel, a coiled spring surrounding said spring barrel, and a ring fitting on the spring barrel and engaging the coiled spring.

6. In a door-latch for automobiles and the like, a roll-back formed of two pieces of sheet metal spot-welded together to produce bolt-operator engaging shoulders and each pressed into cylindrical oppositely extending projections to form a hub, a frame-plate and a cover-plate having the hubjournaled therein, a. coiled spring surrounding the hub, an arm on one of the roll-back plates extending between the ends of the coiled spring, and a stationary stop also extending between the ends of the coiled spring.

.7. In a door-latch for automobiles and the like, a roll-,back formed of plates of sheet metal spot-welded together to produce boltoperator engaging shoulders, each plate beingpressed toa cylindrical shape to form a a frame-plate and a. cover-plate having the hub journaled therein, a coiled spring 'surrounding the hub with its ends embracing between them a projection from the roll-back and a projection from the cover-plate, and

` a. ianged collar litting on the hub and engaging the Icoiled spring.

8. In a door-latch for automobiles and the like, a. frame-plate, a cover-plate secured thereto, a roll-back journaled between the frame-plate and the cover-plate, a bolt pivotally mounted on the frame-plate, a boltoperator connected with the bolt and having bent ends bearing on the frame-plate and engaged by the roll-back, and coiled springs y bearing on the bent ends of the bolt-operabolt-o erator, spring seat cups having openings `tting on said lugs, and coiled springs with'theireends fitting in said spring seat cups and bearing against the cover-plate respectively. j

10. A door-latch for automobiles and the width of the recess of said bolt, said boltoperator having its forked rear ends .bent to bear on the frame-plate, lugs projecting from said ends of the operator and traveling in slots of the frame-.plata a cover-plate secured to and spaced from the frame-plate, coiled springs confined between the coverplate and the bent ends of the bolt-operator, a roll-back formed of two pieces of sheet metal spot-welded together to form shoulders for engaging the bent ends of the boltoperator and being pressed to cylindrical shape. to form a hub journaled in the framepla'te and the cover-plate, a coiled spring surrounding the hub, and projections on the roll-back and on the cover-plate respectively fitting between the ends of the coiled spring surrounding the hub.

l1. In. a door latch for automobiles and the like, a roll-back having boltJ operator engaging shoulders and a hub, a frame plate and cover plate having the hub journaled therein, a coiled spring surrounding the hub, an arm on. the roll-back extending between the ends of the coiled spring and a stationary stop also extending between the ends .of the coiled spring.

12. In a door-latch for automobiles and the like, a frame-plate, a cover-plate secured thereto, a roll-back journaled between the frame-plate and the cover-plate, a bolt pivotally mounted on the frame-plate, .a boltoperator connected with the bolt and having bent. ends bearing on the frame-plate and engaged by the roll-back, guide lugs projecting from the bent ends of the bolt- -operator and traveling in guide slots of the sol 

